0:00
And our next guest are here. Man, these
0:02
are people I've known for decades. One
0:04
for about two decades and the other for
0:08
You know, and both of them have gone on
0:10
to do some amazing amazing things in
0:12
their careers. And I want to welcome
0:14
them to the show. One is a two-time Emmy
0:17
Award nominated beauty expert,
0:19
entrepreneur, and cultural innovator. Um
0:22
another is an award-winning author,
0:24
essayist, creative executive, and
0:27
founder and CEO of Masha and Shaka
0:30
Media. I want to welcome the one and
0:31
only Ashante Sheriff Kendricks.
0:36
>> What are you doing over there? I like
0:38
You're not backing my bag again. You're
0:40
stealing my stealing my gummies.
0:42
>> I know, right? My bad, guys. All right.
0:44
And to Piba and Shaka, I'm sorry, horse.
0:47
I'm sorry, Heather. I'm just confused.
0:49
>> I know. And it was Well, we had a night
0:51
last night. We hung out last night and
0:53
we did our garage series. Bobby Brown
0:56
Yeah, he was He hung out with us.
0:58
Legends, Raheem DeVaughn, hung out with
1:00
us and performed. So, we had a big night
1:02
last night with a live studio audience.
1:04
And you know, Sway doesn't handle shots
1:09
>> I don't really drink at all.
1:11
Heather polluted my my cup
1:16
>> with poison. And here I am today
1:19
calling her horse. You know what I mean?
1:21
So, I'm just confused, man.
1:24
But but congratulations. You guys have a
1:26
big event today. Let's start with that,
1:28
right? Okay, Tembisa, tell us about it.
1:30
>> We have an exhibition of fine art
1:33
photography called Hip Hop Beauty,
1:35
celebrating the innovations
1:39
in terms of the beauty looks that come
1:41
through the expression of hip hop
1:43
culture that begin with a black women.
1:46
>> Yes. Okay. Give me an example of some of
1:49
those beauty looks that begins with
1:51
black women and have been co-opted by
1:55
>> Okay, of course, the ombre lip, dark lip
1:58
liner, cat wing liner, you know. you
1:59
know, even glass skin. We were putting
2:01
Vaseline on our faces. People don't
2:03
realize those things that we were doing
2:05
out of necessity actually become trends.
2:07
So, when you see that glowy, beautiful,
2:09
melanated skin, it's Mama said put that
2:11
Vaseline on, you know? So, a lot of
2:13
these trends are just born out of
2:15
everyday need, and then they become
2:16
global, and then the world stage sees
2:19
it, adopts it, appropriates it, sells it
2:22
back to us, tells us they created it.
2:24
And that's what really happens in real
2:27
>> latest one is the cloud bob, which is
2:29
actually the afro, and will forever be
2:33
>> And you don't get to rename our
2:38
>> Yeah, the cloud, yeah, cloud bob.
2:43
>> But who's wearing a cloud bob?
2:45
>> I think it was one of the fashion
2:47
magazines. I can't remember which one.
2:49
Oh, it was It was Allure, of course.
2:50
Talk to me, I'm going to tell you which
2:53
>> So, they they tried to sort of rebrand
2:55
the afro as a cloud bob.
3:02
>> And this is why we have this exhibition
3:03
to set the record straight on what these
3:06
looks are, where they come from, and the
3:08
history behind them, and the context for
3:10
them. Because, as, you know, Asunta
3:13
created her brand because there wasn't
3:16
product available for us.
3:19
>> And I mean, there's so much trends that
3:21
are happening for us. Like, I think back
3:23
to being a teenager, there was no dark
3:26
lip liner, you know, so a lot of black
3:28
women were using eyeliner or brow
3:32
>> And that started the dark lip liner
3:33
trend, which then MAC, you know, said,
3:35
"Hey, I'm going to make a chestnut lip
3:37
liner. We're going to make a night
3:38
moth." And they And they capitalize off
3:40
of that. And that's fine, that's great,
3:42
you know, but now we have black brands
3:44
like Asunta Sheriff Beauty.
3:45
>> Let's say that again.
3:46
>> Asunta Sheriff Beauty.
3:48
>> Asunta Sheriff Beauty. Okay, all right,
3:51
>> get that at asuntabeauty.com.
3:54
>> You ain't got to speed it up. [laughter]
3:55
You can get that where?
3:58
>> And you spell that?
3:58
>> a s h u n t a beauty b e a u t y dot
4:04
But this is why you know my passion for
4:07
creating products that are highly
4:08
pigmented, innovative, and skin
4:10
conscious. Because also on top of
4:14
products being created, they're not
4:16
thought with us in mind. Black women
4:18
have the most toxic products on the
4:20
market out of everyone from hair, skin
4:23
>> When you say toxic, can you break that
4:26
>> They're endocrine disrupting products
4:28
for in terms of ingredients inside of
4:32
carcinogens and cancers in our actual
4:34
body and it's been proven. And it's been
4:36
marketed to us. And so it's time to like
4:39
get more clean beauty, more clean skin
4:42
care, and hair care, and body care cuz
4:45
your vessel, your skin is your largest
4:47
organ on your body and it absorbs
4:49
everything. And that's that's the things
4:51
that makes us sick and we not even
4:52
realizing it because we're putting these
4:54
carcinogenic products into our body,
4:56
face, and hair daily.
4:59
>> Wow, man. Mike Muse, you hear this,
5:01
right? HP, that's to me one of the
5:03
reasons I would imagine when you started
5:05
Billy Talk, right? If you guys not
5:08
familiar, HP started her cosmetic line.
5:11
>> for the same reasons. I started a lip
5:13
gloss line of vegan lip gloss.
5:15
Billy Talk and it's I kept black women
5:18
and female entrepreneurs in mind. For it
5:20
is the lip language for female
5:21
entrepreneurs. That's what I call it.
5:22
I'll definitely make sure Ashanta and
5:25
Timbi see you get. But it was for those
5:26
same reasons. You you wake up one day
5:28
and you don't understand, why am I
5:30
breaking out? Where is this coming from?
5:32
Why do I feel this way? And I'm The
5:34
things we put on our mouths directly,
5:36
you have to keep in mind you're licking
5:38
your lips, you're eating food, you're
5:39
talking, and you're digesting these
5:42
products whether you realize it or not.
5:44
So from our toothpaste to our lotions to
5:48
your deodorant. This is a direct effect
5:51
in to your breasts as women, you know,
5:53
and no one thinks about that. They just
5:54
see this is 99 cents. I'll buy it. So,
5:58
if it only cost 99 cents to buy it, how
6:00
much did it cost them to make it?
6:02
And what did they put in it? And what
6:04
did they put in it that they can make a
6:05
profit off of 99 cents? So, that was the
6:08
thought process thought process behind
6:10
this keeping us healthy in the beauty
6:12
section. I love that for you, Heather.
6:13
>> Thank you. Thank you, Ashanta.
6:15
>> Congratulations on that.
6:15
>> Ashanta did my makeup for my first
6:18
>> I did both y'all makeup.
6:19
>> Yeah, well, well, hold up, [laughter]
6:21
>> Oh, Swayze, beauty king.
6:23
He's the beauty king.
6:25
>> Let's rephrase that.
6:28
>> Let's tell it [laughter] tell the story.
6:30
>> So, MTV, TRL, and MTV News, y'all
6:34
remember it? This brother with locs,
6:36
right? And they had him casket ready.
6:38
You know, they had him really sharp. And
6:40
when they actually brought La La Anthony
6:42
on, they brought me on to help the the
6:47
>> I HELPED THE BLACKS.
6:48
>> I HELPED THE BLACKS with their skin.
6:50
>> Uh-huh. And how what was I when it came
6:53
>> You were you were not wearing makeup.
6:54
And I it took him a while to coax him to
6:58
really like groom him, you know, to make
7:00
him, you know, understand I'm not going
7:02
to put a lot of makeup on you. And he
7:03
looked great. Like, it was mostly skin
7:04
care. That was really it.
7:06
>> It takes some of the shine off the
7:07
Vaseline that you was left in the sun.
7:09
>> Ashanta used to tell me compliment me on
7:11
my skin all the time.
7:12
>> Nobody here it then.
7:15
>> Mike, you know what that is? Having
7:17
Yes, you have to have great skin.
7:19
>> Again, it's definitely skinning on Mike
7:22
>> Yeah, oh yeah. Very nice.
7:24
>> Has an entire regimen, though. Mike
7:25
doesn't mess around. [laughter] Okay.
7:27
>> We want to We want to hear about it
7:29
>> Yeah, all right. I take my skin care
7:30
regimen serious. But, so it's so good
7:32
what you guys are bringing light to and
7:33
particularly the products that we put on
7:35
our bodies and our faces. And I think
7:36
that goes under is underestimated. And I
7:39
think also too is underestimated for
7:41
men. I know we always focus on women,
7:43
but it's always underestimated for men
7:44
and black men in particular to skin care
7:46
and proper skin care regimen. So thanks
7:48
for highlighting this and bringing it to
7:51
>> They have an event today and tomorrow
7:53
that's that the public is BET week,
7:56
right? And this whole BET experience and
7:59
you guys are a partnered up with them as
8:02
well with this event. No, okay.
8:05
>> Shout out to Joy Brown.
8:06
>> Joy Brown and culture creators are
8:07
having an event. How does actually going
8:10
>> today. It's today.
8:10
>> the brunch is the today. This morning.
8:13
>> It's in a couple of hours.
8:18
>> Not to culture creators.
8:20
>> Okay. [laughter] Oh, okay.
8:21
>> But the exhibition is open to the public
8:23
in the lobby of the Beverly Hilton and
8:25
it'll be there until midday on Monday.
8:28
>> And then there's a beauty bar
8:32
You have to RSVP. We don't want it
8:34
overpacked. You want it to be chic and
8:36
intimate. And then there's a panel
8:37
discussion tonight also open to the
8:41
the restaurant at the rooftop at the
8:43
Beverly Hilton and we'll be discussing
8:45
all things hip hop beauty.
8:46
>> So the panel is at 6:00 and it's going
8:48
to feature Ashunta, myself, and two of
8:50
the photographers in the exhibition.
8:53
>> Mazi Smazi and Stacey Gray who is also a
8:56
hair artist as well. So
8:58
>> They'll be talking about process and
9:00
we'll be talking about our founders
9:01
journey. That's at 6:00 at Circa 55 in
9:04
the rooftop restaurant at the Beverly
9:06
>> Yes, so it's going to be fun.
9:07
>> And y'all have done an amazing job.
9:09
Shout out to Joy. Shout out to Zenobia
9:11
who who even text me and said come to
9:13
y'all's event. I told her that I would
9:15
be Yes, that I would be there for the
9:17
brunch today. Well, this morning. I
9:19
Yeah, so y'all have done an amazing job
9:21
getting the word out there. Thank you
9:24
>> And please tell Stacey Gray that I said
9:28
She did some grooming for me for a
9:29
couple of projects. She's great.
9:31
>> Stacey's amazing. She's full circle.
9:32
>> Yeah, I know Stacey.
9:33
>> And she focused on men.
9:35
>> That's why I get going. [laughter]
9:36
and now she's And now she's a founder,
9:38
too. She's a founder of Thebo, which is
9:40
a luxury braid hair care line that we'll
9:43
be showcasing in the suite.
9:45
>> What's one in men's grooming, too?
9:47
>> Yes. Yes, that's right.
9:48
>> What's one place that people can reach
9:51
you if they want to come to these
9:53
>> Official Hip Hop Beauty is our Instagram
9:57
>> So, we want to definitely invite people
9:59
to get all the updates, the latest
10:01
information because LA is just the
10:03
fourth stop in our journey. Miami, New
10:07
York Fashion Week, Nairobi, Kenya, I did
10:11
This event this week. And then in
10:14
August, I'll be home at the Kelly Pacha
10:21
>> August 1st to September 6th, we will be
10:23
showing Hip Hop Beauty in her gallery.
10:25
So, that's going to be a beautiful full
10:27
circle moment to support a black woman
10:30
>> And And these pieces are for sale, you
10:32
know. We want to really support these
10:34
artists, a lot of photographers,
10:36
especially our black and brown
10:37
photographers that have come up through
10:40
Hip Hop, right? And really like made
10:42
these iconic images. A lot of them have
10:44
not been taken care of properly. And so,
10:47
this also further pushes that mission,
10:49
too, is highlighting the 30, 40-year
10:52
careers of people like Keith Major, you
10:54
know, who's a world-renowned
10:55
photographer, beauty photographer. He's
10:57
like He was a staple for Essence
10:58
magazine for like over 200 covers. He's
11:01
phenomenal and he deserves his flowers.
11:04
And so, we really want to sell this art
11:07
as well to support our our artists
11:09
because they they need that. So, QR
11:10
codes are in the lobby at the Beverly
11:13
>> And also, we want people now with Hip
11:15
Hop being over 50 years old, we want
11:18
people to become collectors of the
11:20
ephemera that they relate to. So, some
11:23
of the artists that are featured in our
11:24
exhibition are Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill,
11:27
Janelle Monáe, Doja Cat, DJ Spinderella
11:30
on the night of her Rock hall induction.
11:33
You know, these are special intimate
11:34
moments and portraits that I think
11:37
belong in people's homes and offices and
11:39
we want to encourage people to support
11:41
black photographers and to collect the
11:44
art from, you know, the eras and the
11:47
culture that they participate in.
11:49
>> I love what you all are doing and you've
11:51
always been on on purpose. I know for a
11:54
fact Tenisha put me on some of my first
11:56
ever panels. She used to work me work
12:00
>> Shout out to Legacy Mills College.
12:04
uh and in Shanti, we have this history
12:06
together because when I was at MTV, I
12:08
was wildly I wasn't institutionalized.
12:12
And so I was against the grain. I didn't
12:15
>> and you still are and we love you for
12:17
>> Yeah, all that people. Thank you. I
12:19
thought they was trying to demasculate
12:21
>> They were like, "What is going on here,
12:23
>> Try to make you light skin?
12:26
>> I didn't go for it, you know, but
12:27
congratulations on what you're doing.
12:29
The the community, the culture needs
12:31
this and these conversations have to go
12:34
further and so we'll talk again. Tenisha
12:37
>> to give one real shout out, you know,
12:38
big shout out to our sponsors, Moet
12:42
um to Theebo Hair, to Muse Hair Beauty,
12:46
um to My Sista's Closet Street Beauty,
12:47
Shock and Media and to Culture Creators.
12:50
Um without having that type of community
12:52
collaborative support, we can't do these
12:54
>> And certainly Hello Beautiful and Hip
12:56
Hop Wired they're our media partners for
13:00
>> And you got a book coming again, right?
13:01
>> Yes, so the second edition of Put Your
13:03
Dreams First, Handle Your Entertainment
13:06
is coming back out this year because the
13:09
game still needs this information and a
13:11
lot of it is held up, a lot of what I
13:12
talked about in terms of digital music
13:15
and media and streaming and how women
13:17
are treated in this business, you know,
13:19
a lot of the predatory behavior that
13:21
we've seen. I tried to help people avoid
13:25
>> Yeah, [laughter] yikes. Easy.
13:28
So, um it's going to be brought back out
13:31
because I wanted to release it
13:33
independently once the global rights to
13:35
the book reverted back to me. And um
13:38
yeah, look out for that. So, Put Your
13:39
Dreams First, Second Edition coming out
13:42
>> You want to come and see what these
13:44
amazing people are doing today and
13:45
tomorrow? Once again, they can reach you
13:48
>> At Official Hip Hop Beauty. And my
13:51
personal handle is Official Lip Game.
13:53
And Ashunti's is Ashunti Sherif.
13:55
>> There it is. Thank y'all for coming
13:57
through today. You look amazing. And I
13:59
got so much history with the two of you.
14:00
>> Oh my god. We love y'all so much.
14:02
>> Oh, y'all got it. Welcome.
14:04
>> We're proud of y'all.
14:04
>> We'll see you later this morning.
14:06
>> Yes, yes, yes. The test of time.
14:07
>> Yeah, we're proud of you guys.
14:09
>> Thank you for everything that you do.
14:10
You are a titan in this business and we
14:13
need you. And we're so grateful that you
14:15
have continued to shine a light on
14:18
artists, on makers, on creators um that
14:21
the world needs to know about. So, thank
14:24
you. Thank you for having
14:25
>> My husband [clears throat] wanted to say
14:26
hello. He actually um he was Core
14:28
Kendrick. He was the battle rapper with
14:32
>> He was on your show. That's my husband.
14:33
He wanted to give you a shout out.
14:35
>> Tell him bring some bars, too.
14:37
>> Oh, he's he's ready. He's ready.
